What to eat when you have a writer’s block

The finalists of the CNT Excellence Award for Food Writing tell you how to crack it

Coorgi coffee or mom’s cake? Mutton yakhni or chicken momos? What do you eat when you’re on a deadline? Scroll down for recommendations on how to get those creative juices flowing, from the finalists of the CNT Excellence Award for Food Writing.

Aarthi Parthasarathy

“When I have writer’s block, I try to eat something new, to shake myself out of my rut. I either go out someplace new or order in something I haven’t tried before.”

“Nothing works like a medium roast single-estate coffee from Coorg, with hints of chocolate and caramel to shake off the mental cobwebs. And when paired with sabudana poha, with just a hint of bhut jolokiaoil, it works wonders.”

“I don’t think I have ever had writer’s block, but when I want to pause and consider a phrase or contemplate the structure of a piece I am writing, I make a big, hot cup of tea and stare at the mountains while I drink it. If I have day-old puris in the kitchen, I like dunking them in my tea. Otherwise, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or an apple help me get back to work.”

“I make chicken soup, mildly flavoured with sesame oil, soy and oyster sauce. By the time I have finished preparing the ingredients and setting the whole thing to simmer, my writer’s block has dissipated and I am raring to get back to my desk! Heigh-ho for my chicken soup.”

“I like to get out of my work space for a quick, freshly-made snack. So I usually hop down to the neighbourhood momo stall for some steamed chicken momos or to the corner chaat wala for a sev puri, depending on where I am living at the time.”

“In Chinese medicine, blockages are caused by an excess of yin or yang energy in one’s bodily organs. In order to balance my yin energy, I eat yang foods like mutton yakhni or a small piece of organic meat cooked in goat’s butter, and any blockage is cured!”

“When I’m struggling with words or battling a looming deadline, I most often crave hot, steamed rice with a dollop of homemade ghee, and a teaspoon or two of my mother’s spicy coriander-lentil powder. This simple meal grounds me and reminds me of my roots—which, in my experience, is a cure for everything from writer’s block to a broken heart.”

The winners of this award will be picked by our jury and announced at the Top Restaurant Awards 2018 ceremony in December, on cntraveller.in and our social media handles. Until then, dig in to this shortlist, listed in alphabetical order. See the three books that made our Excellence Award for Food Writing shortlist here.